Japanese war fan

A Japanese war fan is a fan designed for use in warfare. Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan and each had a different look and purpose.

Description

War fans varied in size, materials, shape, and use. One of the most significant uses was as a signalling device. Signalling fans came in two varieties:

a real fan that has wood or metal ribs with lacquered paper attached to the ribs and a metal outer cover

a solid open fan made from metal and/or wood, very similar to the gunbai used today by sumo referees.

The commander would raise or lower his fan and point in different ways to issue commands to the soldiers, which would then be passed on by other forms of visible and audible signalling.

War fans could also be used as weapons. The art of fighting with war fans is tessenjutsu.

Types of Japanese war fans

{{nihongo|Gunsen|軍扇}} were folding fans used by the average warriors to cool themselves off. They were made of wood, bronze, brass or a similar metal for the inner spokes, and often used thin iron or other metals for the outer spokes or cover, making them lightweight but strong. Warriors would hang their fans from a variety of places, most typically from the belt or the breastplate, though the latter often impeded the use of a sword or a bow.

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Japanese_war_fan

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Japanese war fan

Description

Types of Japanese war fans

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